Guide to:Reunions
by darkbunny92
Summary: Senior Year is here for Ned, Cookie and Moze.Principal Wright invites to them to a Middle School Reunion. Sounds fun, doesn't it? Problem is, an old problem has caused a schism between the trio. Will the Reunion help? Or will it make the problem even wors
1. The Invite

Disclaimer: I don't own Ned's Declassified

Author's Notes: I thought of this episode after an old friend told me about a Middle School Reunion that her school had right before she started her senior year. This fascinated me for some reason, so I was suddenly inspired to write this. None of these events actually happened at the reunion, but they came from my imagination. Plus the whole high school reunion thing is way over done. These first two-three chapters are going to be relatively short, because they are basically the lead-ins for the reunion.

_"I'm Sorry, Moze" Ned says remorsefully. "Really, totally..."_

_"Sorry doesn't cut it" Moze bitterly responds as her big brown eyes tear up a little. _

_"I'm.."Ned begins again. Moze locks eyes with him. Her eyes are hard and unforgiving. Ned searches her face for any trace of any affection. He finds none. _

_"So that's it?" She quietly says. _

_"I..guess" Ned reaches for a casual hug, but she twists away. "Can't we be.."_

_"Goodbye, Ned" She turns around slowly. Her face swims in front of him fuzzily, but still visible.. then.._

"Ned" Another voice firmly says.

Ned hears a faint buzzing in his ear. No, not buzzing, whirring. Like a car.. Then he hears the voice again, but only faintly. He'd fallen asleep, he decides. Not that he wanted to wake up just yet. So he shifted his position on the dashboard and ignored the voice.

"Ned!" The voice repeats impatiently. Then he feels a hand slap his face, Not enough to make it feel like it's burning, but it tingles.

Cookie's slightly disturbed face blurs then clears in front of him as his blue eyes shoot open. "Are you hungover?"He takes his right hand off the steering wheel to snap his fingers in front of Ned. "Are you high? Ned, if you are, your mom..."

"No" Ned mumbles. "No drinks. No drugs Just tired. Really tired" Right then at that moment, he remembers the alarm clock that he threw at the wall, the cereal he gulped down and Cookie's car almost leaving without him, leaving him to chase after the car. That really isn't anything he wants to remember right now.

"Oh good."Cookie clears his throat. "What were you dreaming about? You were muttering something in your hazy slumber"

Ned feigns deafness, complete with a yawn and stretch. He ignores the question blatantly and stares out the window of the car warily.

Cookie sighs and gives up. "Are you going?" Cookie turns right like a pro.

_**It seems**_..Ned muses in his head, _**That school in general was much easier to tolerate when you didn't have to fight the skinny Junior Varsity football jocks for a bus seat. **_Cookie's black Toyota Celica was "All Cookied out" as Ned liked to refer it to as, with all the latest (but not necessarily the greatest) gadgets. There was a complete entertainment system in the back of the car, a GPS map in the dashboard, a small mini fridge in the trunk that was stocked with food,a night vision camera and and a lot of other things that Ned feared to ask what it was. He watches the familiar streets of their town zoom by.

"What were you saying?"Ned feigns interest unconvincingly.

Cookie pulls left into another street as the engine zips. "..The Reunion"

The expression on Ned's astonished face says it all.

"For middle school" Cookie clarifies. "Mr. Wright organized it. He says that it's a great opportunity for us" He smirks slyly as he speaks. "Remember how we used to be?"

Ned as a whole looks somewhat the same, with the same blue eyes and casual fashion sense. He grew his hair out considerably though, hoping that it would make him look older. It didn't, but it was a nice try. Today in question, he's wearing a dark blue t-shirt and jeans. In terms of height, he's a few inches away from 6 feet.

Cookie, on the other hand hadn't changed radically, but the change was there. He had started wearing contacts in 10th grade, claiming that it was easier to read things that way. Ned knew for a fact that he missed having the cyborg aspect in his glasses. The fact that he was covered in electronic devices that blinked kept the technology on him. Lisa had inspired the most changes in him, telling him nicely that tucking your polo shirt into your pants wasn't necessarily the most fashionable thing possible.

Ned doesn't say anything for a while. "And when was I going to hear about this?"He grips the armrests until his knuckles turn white as the SUV swings past the Middle School for a brief second. When Cookie turns onto the street, he relaxes slightly.

Cookie zooms into the second spot in the student parking lot at Michael S. Dukakis High School with practiced ease. He takes his keys out of the ignition. Ned spots a black Flash Drive dangling from the keys. Even Cookie's key chains were technical. "Open the glove box" He instructs, waving a finger in the general direction of it impatiently.

Ned opens the black compartment and a cream colored envelope with a white printed label with his name on it tumbles into his hand along with about 20 little widgets . Ned gingerly takes the invitation and tosses it on the seat while he attempts to shove these things back into the glove box. "Cookie, this car is a hazard!"

"I got it when I passed by Polk yesterday" Cookie explains as he blatantly ignores Ned's comment about his car's state "Just in case you threw it out accidentally/on purpose, or whatever"

_**Good Ol' Cookie. **_Ned thinks. _**He knows me all too well.**_ He had stuck by Ned , like good friends do. Even when Lisa became Cookie's girlfriend, it hadn't changed their friendship even a hair. Cookie always knew how to balance his friends and his relationships. _**I never could**_ flits through his head briefly. "What, you don't trust me to walk across the street and get it myself?"

"No. I don't" Cookie rebutted.

When Ned had walked into his high school at this time 3 years ago, he noticed that was almost identical to Polk, only bigger and with people giving bad haircuts. It was terrifying going in there and not knowing where his classrooms were. He still felt terror sometimes, because of the social part of it. He had basically had his friends since elementary ,and now he had to fake being social because of the schism that had divided everyone he knew into two opposing camps. It was familiar now, though like a second home. _**When I graduate**_, he decides,_** I'm going to miss this place. More than I'll ever admit to myself.**_

Cookie walks alongside him. "So? Are you going to go?

Ned mumbles something incoherently.

"What was that?"

"How can I decide that now?" Ned says, frustration showing in his voice. "I didn't even know there was even such a thing going on until you told me!"

"Sure you can"Cookie responds patiently. "It's a yes or no question! I'm not asking you to solve world hunger, war, or create a perpetual motion device here. "

"It'll be awkward" Ned mutters as an excuse

"It's awkward anyway" Cookie points out. "Going there can't make it any more worse than it already is."

"You've got a point there.."Ned looks sadly into space, his thoughts elsewhere. "Can't make anything any worse"

Cookie's gaze drifts over to the right hand side of the hallway, where a large grouping of mainly blond girls, nicknamed the Perfect 10 are crowded around an open locker with a large mirror in it.. The Tens, are so referred as that because they seem to be perfect, and well.. There's 10 of them. The 10's are the most popular girls in their school. Mysteriously, they are all wearing varying shades of green and yellow, which is apparently not only the middle school's colors, but also the high school's. Must be the budget or something.

.One of the girls in the clique turns around with a cheesy forced smile. This girl is the only one who isn't blond, but a brunette. When she sees Ned looking at her, however, her false smile fades, and is replaced with a rather flat expressionless gaze.

The girl aforementioned is Moze, or as she's now known, Jennifer. _**Moze**_ _**hasn't changed much**_, Cookie reflects with a slight smile sprouting on his face. _**Physically, anyway. Mentally..It's hard to tell.**_

Cookie cranes his neck carefully to hear some of what the 10 are saying.

"..Can **not** believe they discontinued Pomegranate Red!" One of the girls, named Merry exclaims unhappily.

"It's like such a tragedy!" another girl yelps with her chin slightly quavering. Cookie's attention turns back to Moze, who rolls her eyes for a brief second, then expresses the expected response of displeasure.

_**Nope.**_ Cookie grins slightly _**It's the same old Moze, no matter how much she pretends that she's different now. **_Moze looks basically the same, for the most part. Her brown hair has grown longer than it had been last week, with highlights in a darker shade. Popular girls had the weird super power to grow and cut their hair at will, it seemed.

"Ned, I gotta go" Cookie says "I'll talk to you later" He walks away towards his first class with a slight slouch.

"Sure, Cookie" Ned opens his locker, with a spin of the built in combination lock not really listening to Cookie. He gets three text books and a thick blue binder that he needs out, but leaves the door open. As he pretends to rummage through his locker looking for something, he gazes at Moze through the air vents of the locker door.

Ned watches her flip her hair over to her other shoulder and smile earnestly. She'd changed from the fun tomboy girl that he's grown up next door to who became.. that beautiful monstrous.. thing . _**But..**_ He noted hopefully, her actions don't seem all that authentic. Maybe he had a chance. He sighs softly. A chance like a snowball in hell. Then he closes the locker door and briefly checks his watch. Cookie always took him to school way too early. Ned spies another look at the Perfect 10's, then carefully pries the envelope open with his fingernail. He unfolds the tri-folded cream invitation , which read

_Dear Mr. Ned Bigby _(It began)

_Can you believe that it has been over 3 years since you graduated from this institution of learning? Neither can I! Your graduation class was my first as principal, so I am throwing you guys a reunion bash. I intended to have this reunion in June, so it would be exactly 4 years since you graduated, but it's far too close to your High School one. Anyway,you are invited to the James K. Polk Middle School Reunion on Friday, September 21. Hope to see you there!_

_Alistair Wright_

_Principal_

At the bottom of the note ; hastily scrawled, is **Ned: I hope to see you there. You were one of my favorite students.**

Ned smiles. Then he turns to an invisible camera to break the fourth wall. "Reunions don't happen every day, so when they happen, GO!. It's a great opportunity to see people you haven't seen in years" He pauses for a moment. "But there are extenuating circumstances" He picks his books off the floor where he placed them to straighten the stack. "Like in my case"

One of his textbooks, an blue-covered Economics one, he later sees, falls off the stack of books and binders in his arms and falls to the floor with a clatter. The whole Perfect 10 clique looks at him accusingly, well all except for Missy, whose look is more of an annoyed one, and Moze, whose expression is more sympathetic, like a friend who knows you the best.

Poor Ned, however fails to notice Moze's obvious, but guarded concern.

"Let's go Mosley" Missy corrals her away from Ned. "There's nothing to see here"

Ned plods along to his first period , with his dream and, the Reunion letter replaying in his head in a constant loop in his mind and his backpack seeming so much more heavier than the previous school day.

-db-

_Ned and Moze were lying in a field nearby their houses. This field used to be a baseball field until an earthquake turned it into a grassy hill of sorts. It was the kind of place that parents warn their kids away from. Ned and Moze naturally ignored this and came there whenever they needed to think, or to get away from their families._

_"Ned?" Moze's voice was jolting, somewhat in the quiet darkness. _

_"What?" Ned's voice hoarsely replies. _

_"Do you think.." She rolls over so she can look in his eyes with a soft gaze. "Do you think that we'll be friends forever?"_

_Ned was quiet for some time. The silence is palpable._

_"That's not reassuring" Moze crossly responds. "I'm serious"_

_"I know" Ned stares at the night sky as if it holds the answers. "I'm just thinking. You girls are sensitive. If I say the wrong thing, you might kill me." _

_Moze became silent. _

_"Oh.. Moze, I didn't mean it like that" Ned heard desperation faintly showing up in his voice. _

_"I know." _

So what do you think? Read and Review. Pretty please?


	2. A Day in the Life

Disclaimer:I don't own Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, or any related characters.

Author's Notes: Yeah, I know this is kinda short.. but I think it leads up to the place I want to be. Kudos to everyone who reviewed. I feel a need to say something. I normally don't write T rated material, for fear of alienating the intended audience. This story is NOT going to be graphic, violence-wise or in any other way. It is only rated this for a few mild swears, a few brief mentions of teen drinking. And there's some other stuff, but by telling you that, I would be spoiling it. And that's not good.

_"Are you sure about this?" Cookie worriedly asks "I don't think you are. Otherwise you wouldn't be panicking like this" Cookie wrings his hands in worry. "I mean, I understand why you're doing this. But I would be more careful" _

_"Of course" Ned replies, albeit hesitantly. "Cookie, I know what I'm doing"_

_"I don't think that you are. And I don't think you know what you're doing" Lisa says honestly "You don't seem all that sure. If you do this, you could ruin everything. And I do mean everything_" _She advises. "I wouldn't do it, at least until you know what you're getting into"_

_"Lisa, I don't think it'll ruin everything" Cookie seriously replies. "But it's your decision, it's your call, Ned. And I will stand by you." _

_"Yes" Ned faintly begins "It really is"_

"Mr. Bigby!" Mrs. Carlson, Ned's extremely sharp and exceedingly impatient Pre-Calculus teacher says furiously as she slams a meter stick down on the desk in front of his sleepy eyes.. "If you didn't fall asleep on a daily basis, and paid attention **once in a blue moon**, you might have even half a chance of passing this quarter!"

"Yes, Mrs. Carlson" Ned blinks the sleep out of his eyes. "I... won't do it again."

"I should hope not" Mrs. Carlson snappishly remarks. "Mr. Bigby, shape up, or I'll have you thrown out"

Suddenly,the end of period bell rings, dismissing them all. Everyone dashes out of the classroom, eager to be rid of the grumpy math teacher. Ned packs up his books and shuffles out with his head aching. Then he smells a flowery perfume faintly in the air that smells familiar to him somehow.

When he sees Lisa Zemo, source of the flowery perfume out of the corner of his eye, emerging from the classroom he just left, he halts. "You know Lisa? I think she hates me"

"Who, Mrs. Carlson?" She smiles without a hint of sarcasm. "She's used to it"

"She shouldn't be" Ned grumbles. "It's only the third week of school!"

"Have a nice nap time, otherwise?" Lisa shifts her backpack onto both shoulders as she listens to him. .

"It wasn't exactly a nap.. It was more of a recollection. With my eyes closed."

"Of what?"Lisa asks Ned gently, as not to pry. Hey eyes are wide and open.

Ned swallows hard. "When you, me and Cookie were talking that... day back then."

Lisa goes silent. Then her eyes widen in sudden understanding. "Ned, sometimes I doubt myself. I wonder if I made the right choice that day. If I was in the wrong. Do you ever get that Ned? Or is that only me?"

Ned stops short in the hallway. "Every day since then, Lisa. Every day since then"

The pair get to the cafeteria, the silence palpable. The solemnity of the silence is broken by Cookie barreling up to their usual lunch table enthusiastically before they can even sit down, all perky and cheery compared to Ned's dark and gloomy mood.

"Hey Lees." Cookie pulls out her chair gallantly, which causes her to let out an involuntary giggle.

_**What's happened to me?**_ Ned asks himself _**Why am I so out of it, lately?**_

"Did you make up your mind about the Reunion? Cookie says carefully a couple of minutes later, as not to upset him. They had already loaded up their lunch trays on the lunch line and were again sitting at their table, eating their lunches, except for Ned, who was really just picking at his tater tots absently

"I might go" Ned stares at his lunch of a ham sandwich, trying not to show the internal battle raging in his head. "But probably not"

"Ned, don't you miss your teachers?" Lisa says in a valiant effort to try to convince him to go. "Anyone?" She taps her index finger against her lip. "It couldn't have been that bad"

"Definitely not Sweeny" Cookie says without a trace of doubt showing in his tone.

"If I miss anyone, it's probably Gordy" Ned replies. But nobody hears him because Coconut Head comes nearby the table noisily. .

"Did I hear something about Sweeny?" Coconut Head places his tray next to Cookie. "He was so evil"

"I'll say" Ned listlessly says. _**Whoopee, awkward conversation with people. Joy.**_

"Are you going?" Lisa asks Coconut Head

"Yeah, definitely." He responds. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. My older sister said she had a lot of fun when it was her turn to go"

"I could" Ned's sight wanders over to the Perfect 10's table in the center of the room. "Miss it, for the world" he clears up. The 10's table is as per usual, alive with chatter and gossip. His field of vision naturally scours the table for Moze, but he doesn't see her. Ned lets out an involuntary sigh of disappointment Normally, his lunch period was spent alternately gazing at Moze and nodding at whatever Lisa and Cookie said.

"Don't miss it" Coconut Head finishes scarfing down his food. "Anyway, I have to go to the Art Wing to finish a project. See you guys later" He wipes his mouth and leaves

"Ned, you have to do something" Cookie says as he catches Ned looking at their table looking one last time for the absent Moze. "It was years ago, I'm sure she's forgiven you"

"Simon!" Lisa incredulously says. "Girls don't work like that" She pauses, then redirects her focus back to Ned. Her expression becomes softer and more sympathetic. "But still try. Otherwise the regret will kill you before anything else does"

The bell rings, sending everyone scrambling for their books. "Thanks for the advice" Ned answers. "But I don't think that I'm going to go. No reason to."

"It's your decision, your call" Cookie echoes his words from years ago without realizing what it means to Ned.

Ned shivers involuntarily. It reminded him of too much of that day. He already had that still fresh in his head from that incident in Pre-Calculus .He didn't need any more reminders of that bouncing around in his head.

By the time the final bell of the day rings, Ned is exhausted. His last few periods were pure torture of analyzing poetry, throwing basketballs (and missing) and reading about economics. Despite his exhaustion threatening to make him crumple to the ground , he quickly decides that he doesn't want to be in the same car as Cookie. As soon as he hopped in the car , Cookie would immediately bring up the Reunion, and or Moze. Both were loaded questions in Ned's opinion..More pressure was definitely something that he didn't need.

A wind blows by and kicks up some loose fall brown leaves, making them swirl around him. His sneakers crunch on them like potato chips. Faintly, he can hear a car or something coming up from behind him. Instinctively, he steps on the sidewalk, and sees it speed up and pass him with a roaring motor.

Ned can clearly spot 6 of the Perfect 10's in the SUV, Suzie, Bitsy, Missy, Lexy, Jilly and.. Moze. He trudges further on the sidewalk as the leaves flurry around him . What was he thinking? There was no way that he could fill in the gaping chasm that now existed. He'd made sure of that when he'd burned that bridge years ago.

Ned watches the SUV fade into a white dot among all the red leaves. The Perfect Tens had that effect on people, like making them feel incredibly insignificant compared to their larger than life personalities. Ned had known Bitsy since she did that irritating Pink Fashion Police in 7th grade. She hadn't had much interactions after that with Ned, much to his (and probably her) relief

Missy's experiences with Ned were mostly unpleasant-- for Ned, mostly. Her crush on him was short lived, mostly because she had only wanted him because Suzie had him. She basically wanted to have everything Suzie wanted. And that included Ned. Thankfully, she had left her obsession at the door when they came to high school, preferring to treat him the way she had before. With scorn and a little bit of annoyance.

The other girls in the car currently were basically minor footnotes in Ned's life. (Besides Suzie, who was a whole story on her own) Jilly was Moze's hanger-on, who basically hovered around Moze with the look of a hungry wolf, like she was hungry for popularity. Jilly was Moze's opposite though, with platinum blond hair and eyes bluer than nature intended. Ned got the distinct impression that Jilly would sell her own mother for the chance to sit where Moze sat, as Suzie's right hand girl. Jilly gave him the creeps, basically.

Lexy was notable only because she shot down Coconut Head when he asked her out. These girls weren't really the brightest, but they were friends of Moze, so Ned really just had to deal with them as best he can

After a few more blocks of waxing philosophical as the autumn leaves flurry around him, Ned arrives home, where he sees Moze getting out of Suzie's shiny dirt-free white power SUV. Ned slows his pace down, and watches her wave perkily to the people that reside in the car still. _**That's weird. They must have had a few stops. **_He counts only Suzie in the car, and soon comes to the conclusion that Moze was the last stop of the popular girl carpool.

His common sense is screaming at him: _**Just go open the door and eat a consolation cookie. Too late, game over, you lost**_. But as usual, Ned defies his voice of reason and moves closer to the medium wooden fence that separates the two 17 year olds. The wooden picket fence had been put up by Moze's father a few months after everything had gone to dust .Her dad's explanation was that their neighbor on the other side, Mr. Land had a puppy that liked to leave little presents on the lawn, and he was going to have to surround the yard to keep it out. It still felt weird to Ned, because they used to be able to run across one yard to another when they played tag.

"Hey Moze" Ned softly says, as not to scare her. He grins widely and leans a little on the top points in the dividing fence. _**Great, now I look like the Joker. On speed.**_

"Oh. you" She gets a little closer to the fence and answers as disdainfully as could be possible. "Ned." _**I can sense the temperature going down a few degrees from the coldness she obviously has for me.**_

"Yeah" Ned replies a little too eagerly. _**Careful, Careful.. Don't get sloppy..**_

The look she's giving him is one of disdain. She wants him just to go away and leave her alone. No such luck. Who knows when an opportunity like this will come by again?

"Are.. Are you going to the reunion?"_**Good Choice**_ He thinks to himself _**It sounds conversational, casual, and it's the current hot topic buzzing around in the school**_

"Yes" She starts to walk to the door. "With my boyfriend" Moze emphasizes a little too loudly She goes in her door and slams it to the outdoors, and to Ned.

Ned curses himself under his breath. " You frigging moron". He, too then goes into his house. All the fight seems to have gone out of him. He makes it up to his room and flops on his bed with a poof. The warm September afternoon seems stifling to him all of a sudden. Ned flings the window with ease, but stays by the window looking next door at her.

Moze's bedroom was exactly across from his. When they had been younger, it had been perfect for flashlight codes and tin-can telephones ._**That was when we were still able to make conversation without glares.**_ Ned thinks sadly. Now it was a painful reminder of the people they once were.

He looks out the window for a few moments longer. _**What could it hurt?**_ Says the little voice in his head. "I could be charged with voyeurism." He says to himself aloud.

Ned watches her dance around her room putting everything in it's proper place with a big grin on her face. "Funny, I thought she'd be unhappy that I talked to her" Ned mutters under his breath thoughtfully. "Maybe she's glad that I said something to her? That I made the first move towards rebuilding everything?"

_**Keep dreaming. **_The voice of doom in his head says.

Ned wondered why, for a moment, why when Moze told him that she was going with her boyfriend, it had hurt him like a dagger to the stomach. _**Because you always held out that hope that you had a chance.**_ The voice says with a snarl. _**A chance to fix what you had wrecked such a long time ago. Even if it was so long ago that your memories are hazy at parts.**_

Ned sits on the blue-patterned window seat for another few minutes. Going would be hard enough. But imagining what was happening would hurt even more.

_**You just want to rationalize the fact that you still have hope**_ complains the inner voice. _**Please just give up and face the facts... that you're not going to get back together with her and that you're going to move on and live anyway**_

"And what's wrong with that?" asks Ned aloud.

Ned picks up the cell phone sitting on his bedside table. He punches in a phone number, then waits. "Hello? Principal Wright, it's Ned. Ned Bigby" I just wanted to RSVP to the Reunion." He stops and pauses for a moment. "Yeah, I'm coming. Definitely"

-db-

_"I am SO happy to be out of school" Ned chirped merrily as he marched out of the elementary school ; his backpack on one shoulder. The zipper was open and looked like it was about to explode, causing papers to float away._

_"But we still have to go back" Moze reminded him dryly. "Tomorrow, I mean. So I don't get why you're cheering like it's the start of summer vacation"_

_"Don't harsh his mellow, dude" Cookie imitated Seth uncannily. "Let him like have fun if he wants to"_

_"I'm not a dude" Moze tried to hold down a snicker. "I'm a chick" _

_"You're not a chicken" Ned smiled at her. "In fact, you're the toughest girl I know. You're more of a dudette" _

_"Aww. That's sweet, coming from you" Moze bended over and musses his hair up._

_Cookie rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean it like that" _

_"We know" Ned punched Cookie in the shoulder jokingly. _

_"Hey!" Cookie races down the street, in a vain attempt to catch up to Ned. _

_"Yeah, don't bother to wait for me" Moze called after the boys as she continued her leisurely pace down the street. "I mean, I'm only your best friend" _

_"That you are" Ned turned around and smiled at her. "You always will be"_

Read and Review, if you like this story even an inkling.


	3. Here to There

Disclaimer: I don't own Ned's.. otherwise this would be an episode in the 4th season. Possibly the finale.

Author's Notes:If you haven't figured it out, yes, I am deviating heavily from the canon.. quite unusual for me, because I usually believe that the writers know what they're doing. In this case, I don't think they were, about the Ned/Suzie situation...otherwise why let Ned pine over such a mean person like her? On the story front, I was thinking... Would anyone want to see this story in Moze's point of view? Considering that her side of the story would be different from Ned's.. Tell me what you think.

**Thanks to my reviewers.. BlueRoyKaz,Spellbound-Mione ,insaneblaine,Banana Pancake, Euphoric Weaver ,DormantHeart , WhiteRose6136 , GooberAW264 , Achaya, Smallvillecrazy , Blue-Eyed-Blonde90 nedandmozeluvr and extra kudos to those who reviewed BOTH chapters, freecydney504, msweetie913 , and sweet blossom89 (Who hasn't reviewed the second chapter, but who I am sure will, soon)**

_Ned's stomach was churning like a sickness was brewing. In a good way, of course. Everything in James K. Polk Middle seemed so much brighter now that it wasn't __just__ school to him. Everyone seems to disappear as he sees Moze standing at her locker digging through piles of dittos and loose leaf for her math textbook. _

_"Hey" Ned tries to casually lean against the locker like the "cool football jocks" do, but instead slips on the slick painted surface and plunges to the floor. His jaw smacks against the bottom lockers and he rubs it in obvious pain._

_"That's one way to get my attention" Moze teases him playfully with an authentic smile. She slams her locker door shut with a bang, then reaches a hand down to help him up. "Might I suggest a less painful method?"_

_"You can try" Ned shrugs. "But I doubt it'll work. I'm a little slow like that" _

_"Not going to respond to that" Moze hefts her backpack off the floor with a slight grunt. _

_"Oh come on!" Ned protests. "You always have a comeback" He reaches an arm out to take her blue messenger bag in a chivalrous manner. She shifts a few inches away from him, not allowing him to take it. "Oh that's it" He takes it in his right hand, but he can't lift it, so it falls to the ground with a thump. "Have you ever thought about lightening your load?" He asks weakly. _

_"Have you ever thought of actually working out?" mocks Moze playfully. _

_"It's a foreign concept to me"Then his cell phone buzzes in his pocket and Ned stares at his pocket for a while, afraid to see who it might be. _

_"Is that your cell phone or are you.." Moze begins. _

_"Don't even finish that" Ned warns her mockingly with a finger wiggle. He flips the phone open and answers it. "Hello?"_

Ned wakes up, his blue eyes opening with sudden shock. His stomach lurches unpleasantly. His memories of that day were coming stronger and faster lately. And: contrary to popular belief, that wasn't actually a pleasant feeling.

Ned takes a glance out of the familiar bedroom window view where he can see Moze brushing her hair and fiddling with it with her face listless. Her overall expression is happy for the most part, but it seems to have a shadow over it. He rubs his eyes, and it seems to have gone away. She picks up a purple glitter curling iron and looks at it for a moment. _**Deep, thoughtful decision**_, Ned sarcastically thinks.

Ned shuffles slowly over to his dresser and pulls out a dark green t- shirt. Then he reaches over to his other drawer, leaving the top one open. "Now let's see." He takes out a black over shirt and a tan one. "Which one is better" He suddenly stands up and bangs his head on the bottom of the upper drawer, causing him to flop back onto his bedroom carpet in pain. "That was such a cheap joke" Ned groans as he rubs the top of his head in pain. Ned sighs mightily. "And this is only the beginning of the day"

After rushing around his room in a montage of sorts, Ned is cleaned up, dressed up and ready for Cookie to pick him up a full half an hour before Cookie comes. So he entertains himself by flexing his arm muscles in the mirror. He thinks that he hears a snicker, but when he looks at the window again, he doesn't see Moze. So to escape the paranoid feeling that says he's being watched, he waits outside on his stoop for Cookie to arrive. Soon, he sees the Cookie mobile pull into the driveway, and he opens the door.

"So where were you yesterday?" Cookie waits for him to buckle up before he responds. "I waited for you"

"I know" Ned pauses. "I just wanted to be by myself for a while"

"I know the feeling" Cookie responds. "I get that a lot." But he raises an eyebrow "But you could have just called my cell phone"

"Well, I left my phone at home" Ned says as he unconsciously scratches his arm. "I am not using a germ riddled and gummy office phone just to tell you that."

"You could have just told me that" Cookie nods. "That's okay"

_**Liar Liar Pants on Fire**_ Ned's inner voice crossly says. "Cookie" Ned responds as Cookie backs out of his driveway. "I'm going"

"Really?" Cookie turns the car again, his smile reflected in the rear view mirror. "That's good. It'll get you out of your room for once"

"Yeah" Ned debates telling Cookie about his moronic decision to talk to Moze, but inevitable decides not to. "I think it'll be good to see Gordy, don't you think?"

"It always is" Cookie enthuses. "It reminds me of the fun that we used to have"

"..True"In truth, Ned had missed Gordy more than anything else. Gordy had always given them advice and more often than not helped with their insane schemes. No person in the jail known as Michael S. Dukakis High School was even remotely friendly. "If there's anyone I don't want to see, it's Crubbs"

"I wonder if he'll still be as menacing as he was back then" Cookie involuntary shivers. "Ned, if I may make a suggestion to you?.".

"What, to take my car to the Reunion?" Ned chuckles. "I get it. You and Lisa want it alone. Got it" He thinks for a moment, then adds "But only if you promise not to change into Simone. At any time during the Reunion"

Ned rarely used his car, a used green Saturn with a dent in the right fender for two reasons. The first was that gas prices were too high, and Cookie went past his house anyway, so why not take advantage of it? The car itself wasn't bad, it just had a few quirks about it. Like the door key didn't work all the time, and the entire backseat was mysteriously gone and replaced with a form of cushioning and upholstery that basically turned the back into a huge trunk. Not that Ned actually did stuff like hauling lumber or other big stuff requiring actual work.

"Fine" Cookie protests with an eye roll. "I don't think my mom's gold pumps are going to fit any more" He punctuates with a snicker "Glad that's straightened out though." Cookie pulls into his usual parking space. "So don't forget that its **this** Friday, okay?"

"I won't" Ned promises somewhat sullenly. " In fact, it'll probably be the high point of the week"

-db-

"Oh this sucks" Ned murmurs to himself as he sits in third period study hall on Friday, staring at the blandly tan painted wall directly in front of him. Contrary to the class's name, nobody actually studied in study hall. Most of the sane people had left the room to try and complete their required community service hours. Ned looks flatly at the other occupants of the room, a Neanderthal-like football player scratches his head as he attempts to solve a simple algebra problem, and a couple of people are scattered around the room as they talk quietly. Ned stops looking and decided that it would be best if he attempted to get some work done. He touches a finger to the corner of his looseleaf about to turn the page, but suddenly he stops, like if he was shocked by the paper's touch.

Written in Ned's sloppy hand writing is Moze, Moze Moze, with various hearts and symbols. _**I have to stop this**_. Ned mentally scolds himself. **_She doesn't like you anymore. If she even remembers you even exist_**. The little voice whispers in his head. _**The reunion will begin the healing process. Forget it. There are more fish in the sea. **_"But what if I don't want any other fish?" Ned whispers to himself, as if saying the words will kill him . His eyes flicker to the door, where he could have sworn that he saw someone.. or maybe not.

As the law of the universe states, the more you want something to come, the longer it takes to get there. Ned stares at the clock in disgust and sighs loudly. "OH THE INHUMANITY!" Ned yells at the top of his lungs. The football player looks up at him and blinks sympathetically.

"Yeah dude, I know" He waves a meaty paw. "Study halls take forever!"

Ned just looks at him again. "Sure..Sure.."

When the bell rings, Ned scuttles out the door, in a rush to get to English before he has to talk to anyone.

As soon as he gets there, he can't remember what the rush was for. Mrs. Dougherty was possibly the most boring teacher that he has ever had.

"Alright, people, take out your copies of Great Expectations." Mrs. Dougherty yammers.

Cookie nudges him in the shoulder. "Nap time" he murmurs to Ned right in front of him.

"Cookie, I want to **pass**" Ned hisses under his breath.

"Right, right." Cookie shuts up quickly.

" Bigby!" Mrs. Dougherty barks. " Nelson-Cook!" She narrows her eyes. "I don't care if you think that you know it all, but you should at least fake it!" Mrs. Dougherty picks up her copy of Charles Dickens's classic book and slams it on her desk emphatically. "Now take out your books, and turn to page 105"

Eventually, Ned makes it another four class periods until school is dismissed. With a flying leap, he tears out of the building, out the gates and onto the sidewalk like his pants are on fire. He briefly remembers a memory of coming out of elementary school with Cookie and Moze, cheering and yelling. A far cry from the miserable, skulking figure that he now was.

-db-

8:30. With a combination of happy anticipation and dread, he straightens his collar. _**Friday's classes take forever.**_ He reflects. Ned fumbles on his dresser for his car keys. "Damn it" he hisses under his breath. He wonders exactly why he needed a car.. everything he needed was within walking distance anyway.

Ned ducks his head under his bed, only to find a repulsively pungent odor of socks under there. When he leans down to look under the dresser, he feels a sharp pain in his back pocket. "Oh" He smartly remarks. Ned takes the car keys out of his back pocket.

Ned unlocks the front door and heads out to his car, the warmth that is unusual for early September hitting his face. It is extremely refreshing. He guns the engine and and takes off in a cloud of exhaust in the direction of James K. Polk Middle. Ned had never ever felt comfortable driving. He had passed with flying colors, but somehow it felt unnatural to him.

With a screech, Ned pulls into the Teacher parking lot. The outside of the school is lit up like a Christmas Tree. Ned had forgotten how much this place had been like home, despite the fact that it was right across the street from his current school.

As he steps out of the car, he breaks the fourth wall for a moment. "The most important part of reunions is to have fun!"

Ned starts to walk toward the school, but stops for a moment and sees Cookie and Lisa walking near him. "Hey Cookie, Lisa"

Lisa smiles widely at Ned. "Glad to see you could make it, Ned" Her lips are lip-glossed peach and her eyes are wide. She is wearing a multicolored swirly skirt that looks like a rainbow exploded on it and a blue shirt. It's a bit odd, but it suits her.

Cookie on the other hand is dressed in a more traditional way, in a suit and tie. "I'm just happy that you managed to pry yourself out of your room" He starts away from Ned. Surprisingly enough, Lisa does not follow suit.

"I'll catch up to you in a second, alright?" Lisa waves Cookie along. Cookie obliges, but not without a quizzical look.

"Ned" Lisa begins urgently. "No matter what.."

Ned isn't paying attention to her any longer. His attention has been refocused on a beautiful brunette with blond streaks wearing a purple greek goddess inspired look. The back is secured with a sparkling flower-shaped pin. The girl's hair is shoulder length, but a little past it. _**Perfect, someone to distract me from Moze**_. The gorgeous girl is attached to a boy. _**Damn**_. _**If only she would turn..**_

Lisa clears her throat again, alerting Ned to her presence once more. "No matter what Cookie may tell you.."

The girl turns around and smiles faintly. A silver necklace is visible on her neck. The dangling pendant isn't visible though.

"Keep at it. Keep trying" Lisa pats him on the shoulder "Its not like you have anything to lose." Then she taps her chin. "Your dignity is already lost."

Ned's eyes bug out of his head. "Moze?!" he whispers to herself in astonishment. "It's going to be interesting this reunion" He says to himself as he stands outside James K. Polk Middle School and looks up at the sky.

Upon Ned's entrance into the familiar middle school school, he realizes immediately that even over three years later, Polk would always remain the same. He stands a few feet in the doorway, taking quick glances at the lockers, the walls, the floor. "I'm back." he manages to choke out. "I'm...back"

-db-

_"I have to show you something" Cookie poked Ned in the shoulder. _

_"Is it so important that you have to run the risk of getting caught talking in I-Teacher's class?" Ned hissed back. _

_"Well, it depends really on your point of view." Cookie tapped his chin in thought. "It doesn't really matter, in the big picture. The year is almost over."_

_"Cook, Bigby." I-Teacher barked in their general direction. "Unless you're having a fascinating discussion about the characters in "The Most Dangerous Game" I think you should be paying attention."_

_"Actually, my name is Nelson-Cook" _

_A searing look from I-Teacher responded to that. _

_The period ran by in a blur for Ned, who really wanted to know what Cookie had to show him. Secretly, he hoped that whatever it was, it wouldn't involve bodily injury._

_"So what did you have to show me?" Ned said as he sat down at their typical lunch table in the center of the cafeteria. _

_"Look at this" Cookie looked under the table and points at the underside. _

_"What?" Ned looks at the table, but can't see anything out of the ordinary. _

_"A table without gum on it." was Cookie's clever response._

_"And what does that mean exactly?" _

_"It means" Cookie pulled out a linoleum carver out of his backpack. "Use it" _

_"What?" Ned pauses. "Where'd you get this thing anyway, the art room?"_

_"This is the only chance you're going to get to immortalize you and Moze's initials in the wood. Or pseudo-wood as the case may be" He shoves it into Ned's hand. "Do it." Then he responded to Ned's question. "And yes. I did. If you don't hurry, they'll figure it out"_

_"You're telling me that I should damage school property to immortalize myself and Moze in it?"_

_"Yes" _

_"Well, okay then" Ned crawled under the table and began his work. _

You know what I'm going to say. Reviewing whenever is life's greatest pleasure. And let me know what you think about Reunions: Moze's story. Pretty please?? Especially those of you with the story alerts. If you like the story enough to know when the next chapter is there.. Why won't you say even a little something?


	4. Back to Before

Disclaimer: I don't own Ned's. Or else, there would have been no relationship between Suzie and Ned.

Author's Notes: This chapter was originally in two parts, but I decided that it would be better as one. If you want to read it as it was originally laid out (If you actually care) The 'fifth' chapter would have began after Ned realizes where she would be. Again, it doesn't matter . If any of you can identify the movie I "borrowed" Ned and Moze's conversation from, I have cookies...

_"Will you stop looking at Moze?" Suzie hissed huffily to Ned from across the table. "You're with __me __now, not her." _

_"I feel guilty" Ned faintly replied. "We parted on some pretty...bad terms... I feel like I need to apologize." He watched Moze scrawl something in her notebook on the other side of the room. She brushes a strand of shiny brown hair out of her eyes. Ned resisted the urge to run over to her side and tuck the hair behind her ear. "She's jealous of you" _

_"Ned, I know" Suzie placed her left hand on Ned's, a flower-shaped ring on her middle finger sparkling in the dim light of the cafeteria . "It's hard" She sighed. "But it's in the past now." _

_Ned fiddled with the straw in his chocolate milk carton. "I guess so" He snuck another glance at Moze. "I guess" He repeated less confidently._

"Hey Neddy!" Gordy comes up behind him and claps him suddenly on the shoulder. "How are you doing"

"Hmmh?" Ned's gaze remains on Moze, who is now standing in front of her old locker, pointing at the wooden door. She is slightly slouching and pretending to be interested in what her "date" is talking to her about. Her eyelids glitter with dark blue eyeshadow, and look barely alert. " Happier than with me" He mumbles something incoherently.

Gordy scratches his head in utter confusion. "Ummm. Okay. Right." He follows Ned's gaze over to Moze, muttering an oh under his breath "So are all of you here? I see you and Moze, but I haven't seen Cookie yet"

"Yeah, he's here with Lisa" But then Ned pauses. "Moze is here, obviously. But her and I aren't really.. friendly anymore" Ned stretches an arm up. "High School's harder than I ever thought could be possible"

"Oh, gotcha" Gordy waves at him as he walks off. "I'll be seeing you later, okay?"

"Sure" Ned has a sudden lurch in his stomach. Coach Dirga's gym has been transformed into a club room covered in green crepe paper and confetti. People are packed everywhere, drinking punch and eating cookies. The DJ is playing easy-listening background music, just biding his time until some brave soul decides to step out on the dance floor. Ned sees Cookie say something to Lisa. She smiles, then they head out onto the dance floor.

"**Hello** Mr. Bigby" Another hand clamps onto his shoulder, along with a familiar voice. "And how are you?"

"Just fine, Mr. Sweeny" Ned remarks. "And you?

"It's been a few dull years" Mr. Sweeny says. "Then again, anything would seem dull compared to you guys trying the atomic flush.. destroying my car...you running around Huffington with the wild boy skort.."

"You know?" Ned begins. "When I ask how you are, you should typically just smile, tell me you're fine and go make conversation with someone else."

"Okay" Mr. Sweeny frowns at him. "Fine" He walks off and begins talking to another student. Then he leans over to Ned once more "My, Mr. Bigby, you have changed. I never thought that you'd ever be this callous"

Ned's arm is, not less than a few seconds later, grabbed by the extremely talkative Martin Querly.. "Hey Ned, I'm sure that you're glad that I saved you from Sweeny like that. For what it seemed like, it seemed that he was making you uncomfortable. And nobody likes to be uncomfortable." Querly babbles on incessantly. "I mean.."

"Thanks for the...save" Ned says carefully. He doesn't feel like informing Martin about the simple fact that he didn't "save" him at all. "Martin, I kinda want to circulate.. see people that I don't see every day in school" He walks away without further explanation.

The phrase "Alone in a crowd" has never had more meaning to Ned than it does in this particluar moment. Ned looks from side to side, seeking out a familiar face that doesn't think he's the latest freak of the week. He finds no one.

Ned catches glances of Spencer, Beatrice, Albert Wormenheimer and a few other people that he used to know. People who had minor footnotes in the brief history of his time here. He mingles for a while and makes chatty remarks to all around him.

Then he sees Mr. Monroe, his former life science teacher. "Hey Ned!" Mr. Monroe enthuses . "How're y'doing?" He shakes Ned's hand vigorously. "So..? How's the girlfriend?"

Ned shakes his head in slight confusion. "What?" He plasters on a smile.

"The girlfriend" Mr. Monroe repeats. "How is she?"

"Actually, Mr. M, I'm single right now"

"You and-" Mr. Monroe is interrupted by a gaggle of teachers sweeping past him.

"Meester Monroe?" One of the language teachers shimmies past him. "Pay some attention to Meester Wright"

Mr. Wright taps the microphone, causing feedback. Everyone yelps and covers their ears. "Okay, sorry for that, people"

Ned smiles. Poor Mr. Wright.

"Everyone! Quiet!" When the crowd becomes silent, he begins speaking. "I will try to keep this speech to a minimum. I know very well that you all despise long and tedious speeches. I know, I myself don't like them." To that, the crowd lets out a polite chuckle. Mr. Wright straightens his red tie nervously and begins speaking once more. "Today, we are all here to reunite ourselves with the past, so to speak as we rediscover and recall some happy moments from the times you spent here. These people.. this place.. these things you will remember. So go reacquaint yourself with the past" He waves a hand at some white posters hanging all over the walls. "These posters have pictures donated from your fellow students. They're all over the building, so have fun looking for them" He steps off the podium, with everyone's eyes on him in astonishment. "Go!"

The crowd disperses quickly. Only Ned is standing in the middle of the dance floor, Mr. Wright's words echoing in his head. "Go reacquaint yourself with old friends? Just what I'm afraid of doing"

Ned breaks the 4th wall for a moment. "When at reunions, be sure to talk to people. You may never get the chance to again"

His first stop is the cafeteria. Ned smiles and finds their old lunch table. He sits down at his old spot and sits there for a few moments. "Why did I even bother?"

The lunch lady, Rose who makes astonishing predictions, puts down a tray of cookies that she was laying out on a table. "Ned, honey, what's wrong?"

Ned lifts his face from his hands. "Wha-?"

"How's it going?" Rose says questioningly. "Haven't seen you around, lately"

Ned looks at her with an odd look on her face. "...I graduated 3 years ago"

"Oh" The lunch lady sits down across from him. "So? What's wrong, Ned?"

"I think I made a mistake that day I kissed Moze at that dance all that time ago" Ned sighs. "I was just setting myself up for problems"

"You kissed Moze?" The lunch lady says inquisitively. "Honey, my predictions are rarely wrong" She frowns for a moment "Do you remember what I said to you that day when I read your corn when you were looking for failing help"

"No." His eyes go flat. "It probably doesn't matter anyway"

"It means **everything**!" The lunch lady grins widely. "That day, I told you that you would kiss your true love at that dance"

"Even if she was my true love, I've blown it." Ned sighs. "Big time. My window of opportunity is shrinking—if not already gone"

"Nothing is truly gone" The lunch lady wisely says. "You just have to find it"

"Thanks" Ned begins to say. Then he looks in front of him to see that she's gone. "Was... that.. a dream..or something?"

"No" The lunch lady bellows. "Go find her, young Ned!

Ned slowly stands up to leave as he takes a bottle of water from the table of refreshments. "Thanks" But when he gets up, one of his shoelaces gets stuck under his shoe, and he does a nose dive onto the floor. Naturally, this causes a slight amount of "discomfort" As he lies there in pain, he looks at the table above him. Ingrained in the wood is the phrase N+M4E. This had completely escaped his memory for some reason. "Ow!"

Ned's stomach does the conga. "Maybe I shouldn't have eaten that spicy ham jerky" He utters in pain. He can feel his knees start to buckle. _**Why, oh why don't I ever learn about spicy food?**_ He suddenly recalls the burrito he ate on his way home from school as well as the jerky. "Well,that might have done it".He hobbles to the bathroom and and sits on the toilet. "Aaah!" He sighs happily as a smoke plume becomes visible from the outside of the stall.

Suddenly he can hear boys coming in . Instinctively, he pulls his pants up and shifts so he is sitting on his feet on the toilet seat, causing whoever is coming is unaware of his presence.

"Aren't you worried we're going to get caught?" A clearly female voice trills.

"Never" Ned recognizes the voice as male, and as Moze's current football jerk. "Jen won't mind"

_**Her name is Jeni.. Jenniffeeehh.. I can't say it. Anyway, she hates being called Jen, Jerk. **_

Suddenly, Ned hears a faint, but still there squeaking. _**Oh no, could it be...**_ Of course it was the weasel, who had come at quite possibly the worst time. _**Go away! **_Ned orders it telepathically _**I'm going to get caught!**_

The weasel seems to squint at him for a few moments. Then it jumps on the toilet paper dispenser and stares at Ned. Ned moves back a little, so he's leaning against the plumbing. _**Oh this is bad...**_

"It's only a few kisses" the girl says. A smacking sound echoes through the bathroom. "It's not like we're doing anything really bad"

"Mmm" the date sighed. Ned could swear that he heard a zipper unzipping. (Or zipping, as the case might have been)

Then the weasel does something totally unexpected. It jumps on his head, curling itself into a ball. Ned looks like he's wearing a furry hat on his head. _**Why is the weasel asleep on my head? Why does it always show up at the worst possible times?**_

Ned becomes increasingly uncomfortable with the situation, and he continues to shift. When he sees that the two are gone, he realizes who the girl voice belonged to. Jilly, the evil clone of Moze. The thought of one of Moze's.. (he shuddered to utter the word) friends betraying Moze like that with Moze's current toy.

Moze was pretty, witty, and kind. She didn't deserve this treatment from anyone. He could feel his blood coming to a slow boil. Jilly was no true friend.

_**Not that you were the model friend all the time **_sneers the inner voice. _**Abandoning her for Suzie.. that happened more times than you want to remember**_

After a few minutes, the cheating "friends" shuffle out, faces red with happiness. Seconds later, Ned hurtles out of the stall and over to the sink. "Never be clean" He scrubs his hands vigorously. "Never ever be clean" As he looks in the mirror, he sees that the weasel is still asleep on his head. "You better not be dead" Upon further inspection, Ned sees that it is still breathing.

He holds his hands under the hand dryer and nudges the button with his shoulder. Ned taps it again, and it still refuses to turn on. "Damn it!" Ned punches it and it suddenly turns on. Ned blinks at it as it blows, as he nods his head with a sigh.

Ned leaves the restroom, his mood hardly any better. Then he sees something heading in his direction.

All of a sudden, Cookie comes hurtling into Ned's direction, cutting him off before he can go anywhere. His eyes are panicked, and (Ned noted) desperate. "Ned, have you seen...?"

"Lisa?" Ned responds

"No, Moze" Cookie says. He looks quizzically at Ned. "Why is the weasel asleep on your head?"

"Nope, haven't seen her" Ned shrugs. "I've been spending all of my time avoiding the party. Why?"He sighs and looks at Cookie "And about the weasel? You don't want to know"

"Ummm.." Cookie says "She's missing, and her current toy out there is going ballistic. Any idea where she might have gone? They checked the building..."

All of a sudden, Ned realizes the one place she could be.

-db-

Ned and Moze had discovered the way to the roof during the tail end of their 8th grade year. Desperate for a place where they wouldn't be stared at by Suzie's jealous glares, they found the ladder to the roof. Ned runs there, hoping with every cell in his body that she was there.

When he gets to the top, he pushes open the hatch, sending it flying up with a crash. It is surprisingly quiet. Ned visibly sees an immaculately styled hairstyle. "Moze" He softly asks. He looks down at the bottled water that he's holding. He can't even remember where he got it. " Do you want a drink?" He stares down at it.

"Oh." She doesn't take her eyes off the night sky. "You." Her face puckers, as if she swallowed a lemon. "I'm with my boyfriend. If I wanted something, I'd ask him to get me one"

"Listen, I'm sorry.." Ned begins, a speech of apology forming in his head desperately. "I..."

"I don't know you" Moze's voice sounds hollow and world weary. "And I can't think about you anymore. It's too painful."

Then, all at once, Ned can feel a brick wall go up between them, even though they are only a few feet apart.

"Moze" Ned repeats. "I'm.."

"We've done this before." Moze's black-heeled sandaled feet hang over the side of the rooftop. She swings them back and forth for a few moments before she continues. "Ned, I'm over this"

Ned steps closer to her spot on the edge, then stands next to her. "..Over what?"

"You.. me..our past" Moze picks at the hem of her dress.

"Oh" Ned replies morosely. "If that's true" He says almost accusingly. "Then why did you come up here!"

"You mean with all of its memories" Moze half-smiles. She points to a corner of the roof's sign and completely ignores the question Ned asks her "Do you remember when..."

"We were making out the day before graduation and broke the corner off of the sign. " Ned finished her sentence. "Yeah.. I do" He fiddles with his thumbs anxiously. "Why here?"

"I don't know" Moze says softly. "Ned?"

"What?" Ned sits down on the edge next to her.

She stares at him for a few moments, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. Moze wipes them away. Then she twists her face into a sick sort of smile. "Why do you have a weasel on your head?" She whispers. As soon as she says that, though, the weasel scampers away into an entrance to the ducts.

"...Moze?" Ned touches her hand carefully.

"Tell anyone whose looking for me, that I'm in the bathroom handling girl stuff" She jerks her hand away, and waves him away as she responds bitterly

Ned disappears down the hatch once more. Missy shows up as soon as he is a few feet away from the hidden exit.

"You." Missy grabs Ned by the ear. "You seen Moze?"

Ned prepares to tell his lie, but can only stammer out a few key phrases. "Moze..bathroom.. girl stuff"

"Ugh!" Missy stomps off after she spins on her heel. "Figures" She doesn't even ponder for a second why he would know this. "Unpopular kids" she mutters grumpily under her breath.

Ned decides it would be best if he stayed away from the main room for a while, and wanders the hallway. As he walks down the hallway, he sees the displays that Mr. Wright was talking about. The posters, he soon realizes, were rather impressive. The ones at the beginning of the hallway were pictures from the first day of school, back when he was a nervous wreck entering the middle school. A quick glance at the pictures, shows one picture in particular. It has Ned in the center of Moze and Cookie, each other supporting each other as they hobbled down the hallway. _**We thought we would be friends forever and ever. **_Ned reflects somberly.

The titles on some of these pages have "witty" sayings like _Candid at It's Best and Caught on Camera_. Other photos that Ned sees as he walks down the hallway, include pictures of the dance they went to at the end of seventh grade, Gordy in the chipmunk suit and Mrs. Knapp falling asleep.

These memories seemed too fresh for Ned's taste. Pictures from that dance reminded him once more about how he got the runs that time and earlier tonight. He could practically feel his stomach gurgling at the simple thought of that.

Moze clearly wanted nothing to do with him. That much was sure. Ned finds himself returning to the gym, like salmon to its birthplace. _**I don't know why this concerns me so much**_, Ned contemplates as he stands outside the doorway to the gym, wondering if opening this door was the best thing he had to do.

_The park had always been a favorite place of Ned's mom. So, it was only natural that she scheduled her son's 5__h__ birthday party there. It had been the perfect day to schedule such a thing, with the sky perfectly blue, not a cloud in the sky, and everyone invited attended. It was about three, and everyone was leaving, all filled up with cookies and cake. _

_Ned was standing by himself, looking enviously at the pile of presents that he had recently unwrapped. Suddenly, to his surprise, Moze, dressed in a pink and purple skirt and matching shirt, was standing right across from him. _

_"Get everything you wanted?" Moze smiled. _

_"Yep. Just about" Ned's smile widens as he takes a glance at the large stack of presents on a table, just waiting for him to open them_

_"That's good" Moze nodded. "Have you opened my present yet?"_

_"No, but I will before I see you later today" Ned replied. "We can play with whatever it is later, okay?"_

_Moze, to his surprise, leaned forward and pecked him on the lips. "Happy Fifth, Ned. I'll see you later, when I change out of this stuff." _

_Ned watched her walk away with a slight skip in her steps. He touched his lips with his fingertips with an expression much like someone who was clubbed over the head. "Wow..." _

Read and Review :)


	5. Rainy Night

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Ned's related. I wish I did. But nope.

Author's Notes: I am SO sorry that I haven't updated in a full month. It looks like it doesn't matter anyway...it seems that people are losing interest in this story anyway, due to the lack of reviews and hits on the page as of late. So I'll just finish this story up when I'm done, and that will be that. Remember to review, you few readers :)

_"What?" Moze smiles innocently, which makes Ned feel like crap._

_"Moze..I..." Ned stammered "I want to.. I have to.." _

_"Uh-oh" Moze's smile dropped slightly, as if what Ned has to say is in jest. "That doesn't lead to anything good" _

_"I want to... break up" _

_Moze's face changed. "Break up?" She looks at something a little past Ned's shoulder. "If you don't mind me asking.." Her voice turned icy. "Why?" She glares at Cookie's back, as if being a witness to all of this, he was guilty too. _

_"Well.." Ned started "Suzie called me up yesterday..."_

_Moze cut him off sourly "It's always about Suzie, isn't it?" Her upper lip twitched, as it always does when she is trying to hold back the tears. _

_"She wants to get back together" Ned finished "And I.." _

_"Said yes" Moze finished for him bitterly. "But first you had to ditch your ugly girlfriend" _

_"No" Ned sadly replied. "I didn't intend to hurt you" he vehemently insisted_

_"Too little" . Moze answered. "Too late" She let out a sigh "And here I was thinking that you actually liked me" _

"Here goes nothing" Ned pushes open the door, and soon realizes it was like every other school function. Noisy, Crowded and seemingly not sober. A quick glance at the punchbowl reveals exactly what Ned already suspected. The "punch" wasn't entirely fruit juice.

He quickly grabs a cookie off a nearby table and leans against one of the walls, hoping that he looks like he's too cool for any of this.

"Glad to see you could come" Coconut Head wipes his sweaty forehead. "It's really fun"

" 's your opinion" Ned whispers faintly.

"You're happy as a clam, aren't you?" Coconut Head sourly retorts.

"If clams could be happy." Ned fires back.

"Just try to have _fun_" Coconut Head dances jauntily away. "It's not like someone has a gun to your head"

Ned awkwardly starts dancing alone in the middle of the room. He had never been a great dancer, but had managed to learn, with the help of Moze. This had been wasted, mostly because he spent his time at dances stalking Suzie Crabgrass. _**That must have been an avoidance tactic**_ he suddenly realizes. _**You know what's funny? I haven't seen her today. Maybe she didn't come.**_

It wasn't like he was the only one dancing alone. A lot of people (most of them) were, in fact. It still felt like the most isolating thing ever.

Suddenly, the DJ leans close to the microphone, causing a wave of feedback."Okay everybody, the person standing next to you is your dance partner for this song."

Ned instinctively turns to his left and sees the person he wants to see the most and the least. Moze.

"Looks like we're partners" Ned smiles at her in a purely platonic way. _**I hope her special girl powers don't notice that inside I'm dying 1,000 deaths.**_

"Looks like" Moze half grins. The DJ queues up a slow song that practically stops Ned in his steps.

Moze allows Ned to hold her like the other couples are holding each other. "Why are you so stiff?" Ned whispers in her ear as they slow dance in a lazy rectangle. He moves his hand down to her waist.

"Don't do that" She growls sharply at him. "**People are going to talk.**"

"I don't care" Ned softly says. "I know it doesn't matter what they say about me, as long as I know what I am"

"Thank you, Ghandi" Moze rolls her eyes as she whirls around the room "That was incredibly enlightening"

Ned just frowns slightly and holds her a little tighter as if to spite her.

"What about my boyfriend?" Moze visibly stiffens a little more. "What is he going to say? What's he going to think?"

"Oh, you mean the boyfriend who was making out with Jilly not that long ago?" Ned spits out bitterly. "That one?"

"What!" Moze stops in the middle of the dance floor, causing other dancing pairs to crash into each other. Ned can practically hear the scratching record in the background.

"That's right" Ned lets go of her, his hands hanging down languidly, and his eyes wild, like an actor in a western, about to draw a gun. He feels a calming quiet inside of him. What does he have to lose?

"It..I can't..."

"And if you noticed anything other than what people think of you, you'd know that" Ned holds back the sentence he wants to say. _**And you would notice what I really think about you. **_

"I don't believe you" She quietly replies. "I can't"

"Well, you should."

At that, Ned escapes with the astonished face of Moze right behind him.

"Damn it, Ned, you can't leave me like this!" she yells after him angrily.

Among the sea of dancing bodies, Ned can spot Principal Wright trying to dance. He stifles a smile and feels his way through the crowd in the direction of a nearby chair. As soon as he sits down, though, he gets tapped on the shoulder by Gordy, and promptly jumps 3 feet in the air. "Gordy, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"How do you _do _that?" Gordy sighs jokingly as he meets Ned's eyes. "Hop 5 feet in the air, I mean" He looks at the whirling group of people in the crowd, and leers warily at the boy Moze is dancing with. "So, that's the current replacement?" He points at the slightly staggering young man once again.

"Yup." Ned mildly responds, hoping Gordy won't realize the slight anger in his voice.

"He looks pretty decent for someone who was just downing a 6-pack in the bathroom" Gordy comments blandly as he sweeps up some corn chips and cookie crumbs off the floor.

"And _how_ do you know this?" Ned questions. "And why does everything in this place happen in the bathroom?"

"'Well, I was in there, doing my job..." Gordy begins.

"Wait.." Ned can hear a record scratching faintly in the back of his mind. "Wait, you actually work?"

" Well, Yes" Gordy emphasizes. "How do you think that they determine how much I get paid?"

"It's just that.." Ned carefully picks his words. "You never seemed to do any amount of work when we were here"

"That may be.." Gordy suddenly vaults off his place on the floor over to the dance floor. "Hey! You! Stop that!"

The crowd is in a circle, watching the problem unfolding in the middle of the dance floor.

Moze's date, looking disoriented and very out of it, is yelling at her at the top of his lungs. "Don't yoo tell meh wha too dooo Jenishfer" He slurs drunkenly. "Yoo jusht a..."

But he never gets a chance to finish his sentence, because he falls over suddenly, his eyes glaze over and he retches.

As quick as a flash, Gordy scoops up the lad, and tosses him into a large rolling garbage can and rolls him away. As he passes by Ned, he whispers to him. "Be a hero, Ned. "

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ned asks himself softly. "What does that mean?"

Moze, standing there with an expression similar to being clubbed over the head, is immediately surrounded by Perfect 10s and assorted hanger-ons. These flurry of people are twittering and making concerned noises. Ned sees this as the perfect time to inch away.

He barely makes it out the door, when he runs into Martin Querly.

"What did you think of that?"Martin babbles loudly. "I never would have guessed that Moze would have such poor taste in guys. I mean, look at back then, she used to like you. And I didn't mean it like that. You were a good choice, no matter what they say about you now.."

_**I need to get out of this.**_ Ned looks around in a panic. Dimly, he realizes that Martin is still talking.

"I don't know why you didn't last" Martin continues. "You always seemed to be the perfect match"

"Yeah, I guess it was time to move on" Ned flatly responds.

"But with a guy like that ..?" Martin drags off. "I mean, getting drunk at a reunion?" He rolls his eyes. "Can you believe that?"

Ned backs up into the wall. This wasn't working. In a panic, he looks to his left and sees Gordy's closet. Quickly, he slips in there before Martin realized he was in there. Ned lets out a slight sigh of relief. Then, to his displeasure, he realizes that he can't stay in there the whole time. _**But you sure can try. **_As he leans back, he sees his old cutout. Then he slips out of the door, sets up the cutout in front of Martin, and sneaks away. As he walks away, he can vaguely hear Martin still babbling in his cutout's ear.

"Now what exactly did Gordy mean by be a hero?" Ned murmurs under his breath.

-db-

After a bit of wandering around, Ned realized it was over. He was at the wood shop, which had to be as far away from the entrance as possible, due to his luck. On his way out, he waves goodbye to Principal Wright and almost opens the door to leave, when he realizes that it's dark and storming outside. Ned decreases his pace and opens the door slowly. The door nearly collides with someone crouched by the door, staring at the rain. "Oh, sorry" Ned mumbles.

"It's okay" The brittle voice wavers in response. "It's just that the weather sucks, and.." Moze, the source of the voice, stops halfway. "Why am I telling you this?"

"I don't know" Ned shrugs weakly. "I really don't"

A drop of water drips off the awning onto her head. The water continues to dribble off the top of her head. Ned resists an internal urge to take his hand and wipe her hair, like he did when they were younger. Her mascara dribbles a little, and her eyeshadow is smeared, because she keeps rubbing her eyes. Moze's face looks younger all of a sudden, like the absence of makeup has un aged her somehow. Her tired and worn face gives it all away though. He crouches down next to her and looks at her eyes for the briefest second. _**They're not blue anymore. Now she looks more like herself. **_

"I'm just.." She begins, as she runs her hand through her hair absently. A tear leaks out. "Waiting for something, I guess" She pauses. "The date isn't exactly in his right mind right now." She wryly remarks. "Little too much to drink, I suppose" Moze sighs mightily.

They sit in silence for a few moments.

Ned stands up from his crouching position and offers a hand to her. "Come on. You're so close to me anyway."

"Why?"

"Because you need help" Ned insists. "And I'm not about to leave a beautiful girl waiting outside a school with a neon sigh basically over her head that says **HURT ME**

"Okay, fine" Moze relents. "knight in shining armor"

"I like that" Ned takes her hand and lets her use him to pull herself up. "It has a nice ring to it." He pulls out his car keys from his front left pocket. "I wonder if I can get that printed on a business card?"

"The Saturn, right?" Moze points to it.

Ned turns to her. "You knew..?"

"Ned, give me some credit" Moze pulls her hair back and twists it to try to rid it of some water. "I'm not totally oblivious" She opens her side of the car and sits down.

Ned starts the car in silence. There are no words that won't come out wrong. "I have nothing to say to that"

Moze snickers slightly and lets out a reluctant smile.

He reaches a hand over to turn the radio on, but his hand collides with Moze's. He can feel a shot of electricity shoot through his hand.

She recoils, as if she touched a hot stove. "Sorry" she mutters.

They continue down a few roads until Moze breaks the silence. "I'm sorry, you know." She fiddles with her skirt.

Ned's flat expression changes. "Oh, she speaks" He says with saccharine clearly in his speech. "I'm so shocked. Considering how you've been treating me, that is." _**Like dirt on your popular shoes.**_

"Ned" Moze's voice changes to a warning look. She stares out the window for a few moments. "Stop."

"Your wish is my command, milady" Ned presses on the brakes lightly. He taps his fingers on the steering wheel as the car comes to a halt. _**What, now you're talking like Shakespeare? **_

"What the hell!" Moze smacks the dashboard. "What did you do that for?"

"Sorry, can't resist" Ned starts the car moving again "What do you expect, Miss Popular, for me to just bow to you like the rest of the sheep?" _**No!**_screams the voice _**What do you think you're doing! This is suicide!**_

A nerve near Moze's cheek begins to twitch. "I just..I know that you wouldn't" She takes a deep breath and starts again "Did you know you're the only person who still calls me Moze?"

The voice in his head is speaking again. _**Because it's MY nickname for you. Everyone else just stole it. **_He silently nods in agreement.

"That's probably why I was so cruel to you on the roof" Moze's gaze is far away now. "It just brought me back. And it scared me"

"I don't really know what to say to that" Ned says honestly. "I really don't" The little voice does, however. _**Tell her you're just as scared, but you want to give us a chance. **_

"I missed this a little" Moze says suddenly. "With the Tens, it seems so..."

"I would imagine, fake" Ned dryly retorts. "All sugar and spice and artificial coloring. Oh and boob implants for some of them"

"Not that you would know about the popularity" Moze fires back. "And I really hope that you don't know about the implants thing" She rubs her eyes again tiredly. "I'm sorry" She apologizes softly. "I'm so used to the popular way of life..To conqueror and belittle"

"It's okay, You can't help the way you are"

"Yes I can" Moze's hands grip the dashboard. "It's just.."

"I know" Ned says calmly. "Just relax. You'll be okay"

-db-

Somehow they had ended up here. Ned's inner voice is blessedly quiet right now. Here, was Bryant Park, the park where many eventful things have occurred. More specifically, they were in the trunk of the car, him on top of her. He was careful not to crush her, with most of his weight resting on his palms. A tingle shoots up his spine as she kisses him slow and deep. Ned shifts so she is on top. He's sure it's more comfortable this way for her. He runs a hand through her hair absently. _**Maybe I **__**didn't piss off an evil fairy after all. **_Ned realizes what he didn't fully grasp before. He loves her. The little voice in his head reappears with a vengeance. _**And you just figured this out?**_

Moze suddenly reaches behind her and unlatches the pin that was making her dress form fit. The dress was (thankfully, for Ned felt he might explode otherwise) still fine otherwise. She carefully places it next to her shoes. She lifts a pointer finger and lightly traces his face slowly as if she's never seen him before.

_**This must be how intoxication feels like. **_Ned lazily thinks as she leans her face on his chest. _**A feeling like you can do anything you try for. A good thing.**_ He looks down and sees his dress-pant covered legs tangled with hers. _**This is bliss**_

Moze looks at him with a tender look in her eyes. She kisses from his jawbone all the way to his mouth, causing his eyes to widen in shock.

Ned smiles drowsily and relaxes even more, hoping that this wouldn't end. **_She's wearing the necklace I gave her_**. he noted in surprise.

"We shouldn't be doing this" Moze breaks the silence with an uncharacteristically high voice. She sighs contently. She rolls Ned on top of her as she plays with his brown hair.

"Why?" Ned says softly. "Why not?"

"You always did think that you had the answers." Moze responds in a tender tone. "Sometimes there are none."

A little light bulb goes off in Ned's head. He shifts off her and tries to get his bearings back.

-db-

Ned's car rolls silently in front of Moze's house. He unlocks the door and listens to the somewhat familiar sounds of Moze collecting her girl stuff off of the floor. She opens the door and exits, her heels held in her hand. Before she shuts the car door, she opens her mouth as if to say something. She snaps her mouth shut though, closes the door and walks up her walkway in her bare feet.

Ned turns into his driveway only a few feet away. He wrestles in his pocket for his house keys as he pushes the remote to lock the door. He remains faintly aware that Moze is still standing on her porch, keys poised to open the door, is watching him. Ned lets himself in the door and hurtles himself halfway up the stairs to his room. But he is stopped by a voice.

"No hello?" His older sister, Johanna is sitting at the kitchen table nursing a warm mug of something, the steam visible in the dark.

"No." Ned takes a step back up the stairs, where his covers and bed were calling to him. Johanna happened to be simply an obstacle to it.

"Fine" Johanna purses her lips and blows the steam off the mug of coffee "Just so you know, Mom already went to bed"

Johanna is Ned's older sister by four years. She has brown hair similar to Ned's, although hers has a red streak on the left side of her face. Her eyes are not blue like his, but hazel instead. At the moment, he can't see the eyes, because they are closed. Her hands are rubbing her temples.

"So why are you down here?" Ned crossly replies. "Shouldn't you be doing something college student-y? Like sleeping or pulling an all nighter to work on a paper?"

"I was" She gestures at her laptop, the screen's back light glowing "But I was waiting for inspiration or something."

Ned steps back down the stairs and sits down across from her with a tired and exhausted face.

"What's wrong?" Johanna taps his chin with her pointer finger. "You seem so sad."

"I'm just tired" he mumbles under his breath.

"Okay" Jo lets him go with a wave of her hand. "Just don't forget to relax" She advises. "Even the mighty tip man has to ask once and a while"

Ned blinks "Um, alright." He gets up and walks up the stairs, his head aching. He opens his door and lurches over to his bed, flopping onto the bed face first. " This is a good thing" He mutters. "This might make her be Moze again." Ned lets out a world-weary sigh , the phrase "Screw-up, Screw-up" ringing in his head until the sun rises. However, one last treacherous thought crept into his mind:

_**...That was the last time...Then she'll be out of your head for good.  
**_

_"I'm bored" Cookie stared up at Moze's ceiling, flat on his back. _

_"I have an idea" Ned sat up from his place lying next to Cookie a few feet away. He plunged his hand under Moze's mattress and pulled out a cloth covered book. "Let's play the-how-much-does-Moze-want-her-diary-game!" _

_"You wouldn't dare" Moze glared at him fiercely. "How did you know it was there?" _

_"I have my ways" Ned slyly said as he smirked slightly. "Just call me 007" _

_"How about 000?" Moze replied spitefully. _

_"How do we get the lock off?" Cookie absently remarked. "I suppose we could just cut it off with a power saw..." _

_"No way." Moze smiled. "And you'll never find the key" _

_"It's taped to the inside wall in your closet. On the molding" Ned crisply answers. _

_"How do you know this!" Moze asks again_

_"You'll never know" Ned tossed the diary. "I don't get what's so important in there that you have to hide it from us." _

_"You'd never understand" Moze declared as she tossed the diary in the air._

Please tell me what you think! Also: Do you think setting up a forum for this and Moze's story on is a good idea? So you guys can ask me questions and talk about it?


	6. To School and Beyond

Disclaimer: If I owned Ned's Declassified, I wouldn't be writing fan fictions.

Author's Notes: Just to warn you in advance, this is not the last chapter.. In fact there will be like one more with a possibility of a epilogue. Would you believe when I was planning this story, it was supposed to be 5 chapters and one story?

_Ned had been walking down the hallway after school. The quiet of the school freaked him out a little, but he had managed to get over it. Suddenly, he heard a click of high heels coming behind him. His first instinct was that it was a teacher...because teachers always wore shoes like that. But the pace was too fast. Ned whirled around. "Who the he.." _

_"Ned." Moze looked at him with a look that was indescribable. _

_"Um...hi" Ned stared back quizzically. He studied her face carefully. He saw a few hints of tears coming. _

_"You are such an asshole" Moze reached her left hand back and slapped him with all of the strength that she held. _

_"I don't..I don't understand" Ned held his jaw in pain. _

_"What, were you drunk when you did it?" Moze hissed sourly. "That would make some sense, wouldn't it?" _

_"What.. I.." _

_"I guess you thought that it wouldn't matter?" Moze sighed "Because you loved her first and all that bull shit" _

_"Is this about...?"_

_"You think about that" She walked away, her heels clacking down the hallway. "I hate you" _

_**-Sunday-**_

Ned has the vaguest feeling of disaster striking. Or that could have been the lack of sleep. He hadn't really slept well, mostly on and off. When he opens his eyes, he realizes that he has a throbbing headache. Ned looks dimly at his alarm clock, wondering why it hasn't gone off.

"I turned it off" Johanna stands in the doorway with a bemused expression on her face. Her ever-present hot beverage is clutched.

_**Coffee**_ Ned sniffs the air.

"You looked to peaceful ; I figured that it's best not to wake you" She sips the coffee thoughtfully. "And I know better than to incur your wrath"

"Does..." Ned sleepily begins

"Does Mom know that you wandered in at 2 am?" Jo chuckled throatily. "No. And I don't think it would be wise to alert her."

"Ooh, Jo" Ned sarcastically retorts, "You know, compared toyour wild teenage years, Mom actually trusts me." He narrows his eyes as if he expects his mother to pop out from behind Johanna . "So where is the woman of our discussion?"

"Work" Jo rolls her eyes. "Where else? On a Sunday, no less"

"It's a Sunday?" Ned coughs. "You mean I slept through Saturday"

"Mostly" Johanna takes another sip of her coffee, then bank-shoots the cup into Ned's plastic trash can. "You did wake up around 9 pm on Saturday mumbling something about a radioactive Twinkie." She thinks thoughtfully for a few moments. "And at around on 4 am Saturday, you were yelling NO! NO! Over and over"

"And speaking before of work, why don't you actually get a job" Ned rolls back under his covers miserably "So I can sleep through the weekend happily"

"I am a starving college student. Which means that I don't have time for work" Johanna rebuts firmly. "Plus, Mom needs me here to make sure you get through okay"

"Okay?" Ned screams. "She thinks that at 17 years old, I need my sister to clean my bottom?"

"Uh, No" Johanna's face twists into one of disgust. "I don't do diapers." She raises an eyebrow. "And apparently, she thinks that, or else she would have kicked me out of the house when I was 18"

"Well, whatever" Ned sighs "I've got problems." He sniffles a bit and bites his lip. "I didn't show up for work yesterday"

"Have you no faith in me?" Jo smiles at him. "I called 'em up. He said it was a slow night anyway"

_**Conner, my friend, you are such a liar. **_ "That.. works" Ned steps halfway out of bed and scratches his head.

"He said it's okay. But you have to work on Wednesday after school" Jo says as she leaves the room in a sweeping motion.

"That's somewhat doable" Ned grunts. "Can I go back to sleep?"

"Absolutely" she yells at him. .

_**-Monday-**_

Ned sits on his front porch waiting for Cookie to come for him. The instant he does, he comes racing up to the car with a cheery smile on his face. "Morning Cookie"

"So cheery" Cookie notes with a questioning look. "What happened?"

"I think it's great to be alive today" Ned simply says.

"It's great to be alive any day, really" Cookie raises his eyebrows. "Considering the alternative."

"This is true" Ned taps his lips thoughtfully.

Cookie just stares at him.

The ride to school goes remarkably quick, and all of a sudden, they are standing outside of the building. They are a full 15 minutes early before the bell-unusual, because usually they arrive 10 minutes before the bell.

_**Today, I will not chicken out about talking to Moze. **_Ned hears a cracking sound. When he looks down, he sees that he is cracking his knuckles without thinking.

"You shouldn't do that" Cookie says as they walk down the hallway. "It's disgusting"

"That sounded remarkably unmanly" Ned teases

"No, really, that can cause damage"

"Right..." Ned responds by grinning.

"So about your odd happiness thing.." Cookie points out. "Did you wake up on the right side of the bed for once?"

"It's just a good day"

Cookie cuts Ned off and shines a tiny light in his eyes. "Did you take a page from Jennifer's date's book and get drunk?" _**I think that light just singed my cornea.**_

It takes a moment for Ned to realize he's talking about Moze. "No" He smugly retorts. "In fact, I drove her home on Friday"

"Her!" Cookie's jaw drops in astonishment.

"I know, I know" Ned rolls his eyes. "But I think ...you know...I think we'll be okay from now on...we connected" _**I hope, anyway.**_

"Oh my..." Cookie gasps. "If you two...don't tell me the details"

"Cookie!" Ned grumbles. "Focus!"

"You were saying?"

"I'm still...you know...the v" Ned ruefully says. "Probably the last of the lot"

"This got uncomfortable fast" Cookie raises an eyebrow. "If you and Moze really are so close, go over there and talk to her"

"As a matter of fact, I will" Ned stomps away in the direction of the Perfect 10's. The tens look at him with a bewildered glance.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Jilly cruelly frowns.

"I need to talk to Moze" Ned says calmly.

The bell rings overhead, shattering the earlobes of everyone in the vicinity.

"And by the way?" Missy shoots him a look. "Her name is Jen"

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that" Moze retorts sharply.

The Tens shuffle off. Ned looks at the ground. _**That powdery stuff on the ground? That's where my heart just broke into a million grains. **_

-db-

Ned sits at a table in his study hall staring numbly at his open notebook. He does not feel like doing math today. _**Then again..**_.He thinks bitterly_**. I can't exactly send away my undoubtedly school-obsessed tutor just because the girl you're in love with just dissed you in front of everybody. **_

The door to the classroom swings open quietly, and slams with equal care. Ned barely glances up. He hears some hushed speaking from the person who just entered, and from Mr. Darden, the jailer/study hall monitor.

Ned hears more motion, and suddenly, there is someone sitting across from him. A female somebody. Slowly, he takes in all of her features. Moze. _**Of course. It has to be Moze because the universe hates you so much. **_

She returns his glance of recognition. Moze unzips her backpack and takes out a math textbook. "Okay" Moze briskly says. "Let's get started"

"Moze..." Ned says almost inaudibly. So quietly that he can scarcely believe that he said it at all. There are no words. _**Why did you do that to me? What do you think of everything...DO I HAVE A CHANCE! **_Well, no words he can say aloud.

"So what are you having trouble with?" Moze asks.

"Everything" Ned honestly remarks. _**Especially you and me. That's about 99 percent of it, really**_

"From the beginning then" Moze opens the textbook and flips it to the right page. "The first thing we did was review SOH/CAH/TOA..."

"I..." Ned begins_** ...want you to talk to me**_

Moze doesn't say anything. She tosses him a baleful glance. Ned takes this to mean that she doesn't feel like talking._**Back to square one...**_

But under the table, when his leg leans up against hers, she doesn't move it out of the way.

"So, do you understand this?" Moze asks him as the end of the period comes. The bell rings.

"Not when she said it" Ned picks up his backpack "To be honest, I haven't understood a thing Mrs. Carlson has said this year. She scares me a little"

Moze smiles slightly at his words. She walks away with her hair blowing slightly.

-db-

"I'm sorry" Cookie says.

"I know" Ned answers. "I heard you the twelfth time"

"But I really am" Cookie sadly sighs. "I shouldn't have twisted your arm to go talk to her"

"You didn't" Ned tiredly explains. "I went over there in a deluded state, believing that we would have a fairy tale ending where everything ends happily"

"That really happens" Cookie sarcastically mutters "That kinda fairy tale crap never happens in real life"

"Pardon me for believing in miracles"

"Believe what you want" Cookie raises his hands in surrender. "I give up"

"Maybe it was a misunderstanding?" Lisa defends. She fidgets with her carton of juice at their lunch table. "Maybe it's possible that she's not that into you?" She pats his hand gently.

"You were the one who told me to go after her!" Ned slams his hand on the table.

"Yessssss..." Lisa taps her nails on the table. "But you know... maybe this is a good thing. Then next time you'll be more careful about everything"

"But what if...?"

"But what if what?" Lisa asks

"What if I just give up this whole dating thing and decide to be a monk in Shangri-Llama?"

"You can't" Lisa scoffs. "Are you even good at chanting in unison?"

"No" Ned admits. Ned places his Pre-Calculus Essentials on the table and uses it as a pillow. "Right now I don't feel like facing the world"

_**-Tuesday-**_

"Is the new tutor working for you?" Mrs. Carlson asks him after another massively confusing class.

_**Yeah, if by "working" you mean making my heart sink into the ground. **_"Yeah" Ned nods his head. "It's been working out great so far" He softly adds onto the end.

"I'm glad" Mrs. Carlson taps her claws against the textbook on her desk. "She's perfect for you."

_**If only I could make her realize that... **_Ned thinks miserably.

"...She's good at math, and quite frankly you are not"

-db-

_**How long am I going to have to do this for? **_ Ned thinks as he watches Moze fix his math problem. _**Act like I don't miss her , act like I'm totally comfortable with this. **_He watches a lock of her hair swing back and forth. She keeps reaching to put it behind her ear, but it keeps coming loose. _**It looks more brown today. **_

"This problem is uses SOH, not CAH" Moze points to the corrections she made on his paper. "How on earth did you get through Algebra II/Trig?"

"An act of a god" Ned deadpans. "Seriously, Cookie helped me out a lot"

"I'm seeing that now" Moze nods. "This is worse than that time I had to tutor those kids when we were at Polk" Then her face suddenly drops, as if she suddenly remembered everything. Her face changes back in an instant. "Why isn't he helping you out this time, then?" _**Because he uses his magic Cookie powers to always make me end up with you. **_

"He's busy" Ned says. "His parents are renovating his room"

"I can imagine his reaction to that"

"Plus Cookie's in AP Calculus this year, so he's under school stress"

"Aren't we all" Moze kept up the small talk. Ned prefers this to uncomfortable silence "Have you applied anywhere yet?"

"I can't even think about what I'm going to be doing next week, let alone next year" And for once, what he said to Moze during tutoring wasn't a half- lie.

-db-

Ned saw him. Actually smelled him before he saw him. That smell of cologne and alcohol was enough to make him gag. He was the idiot jock boy that Moze had gotten away from on Friday. The place was in 7th period gym. More specifically, at the end of the period, when he was in the locker room.

"Glad to see you're feeling better, man" Seth Powers says. "We were afraid you'd be home the whole week"

There was a chuckle from the Jerky Idiot. "You know I bounce back soon."

_**Damn, I was hoping that he choked on his own vomit. **_

"Hope you're good enough to play in the big game on Wednesday" Seth asked. "Did Jennifer do that big a number on you?"

"Jennifer's not that great to be honest" JB smiles a devious grin. "But her pal Jilly? A real wild child"

"I used to have a crush on her in middle school" Seth absently says as he zips up his bag. _**A crush? It was like a mild obsession. **_"Jennifer, I mean"

"She's pretty average." JB responds.

"She's pretty smart though"

"Smart doesn't really matter. I still can't see why she's so popular. She's kinda a bit..." JB said, as he preens in front of a mirror. Which is why he doesn't see Ned's fist coming out of nowhere to punch him in the jaw.

_**-Wednesday-**_

Ned's watch blinks 4:58 brightly. The boy previously noted, runs down the street, gasping for breath in front of a small pizzeria where he worked weekends usually. This pizzeria was owned by an older couple named Nina and Anthony Leto. They never were around, and the place was run by their son, Conner in their absence. _**I got off pretty easy.**_ Ned contemplates as he slows his pace slightly as he gets closer to the door _**Neither of those idiots squealed to the principal. I can't let that happen again. **_

_**I wonder if Moze knows? **_Teases the inner voice mockingly.

"Hey Ned, what's up?" Conner, a cheery smiley guy with uncontrollable black hair greets him as Ned walks in the door with a weary expression on his face.

"Con, I'm sorry I wasn't in on Saturday" Ned waves a hand in Conner's direction.

"It's okay" Conner nods. "Like I told Johanna, it was a pretty slow night"

"Liar" Ned walks around the counter and grabs a white apron with the pizza place's name on it. "Saturdays are always busy."

"No man, I'm telling you the truth here." Conner kneads the pale pizza dough with a squishing sound. "I think after the reunion that Polk had, most of you guys were sleeping off a hangover." He puts down the dough with a slap, and eyes Ned warily. "You were justtired?"

"I don't drink"

"You don't drink.. You don't smoke.. you do absolutely nothing wrong... what do you do?" Conner points to a pot of bubbling tomato sauce in desperate need of stirring. "What do you do?"

"I live a quiet life, you know that" Ned stirs the sauce roughly,as if it has done him a personal wrong. _**Actually, Conner, I obsess over a girl that hates my guts probably. **_

"Sure" Conner flattens the dough into a vaguely pie shaped object. "That's why you're banging my favorite sauce ladle against the pot." He smacks the dough until it becomes even flatter. "It's a sign of trouble with people"

"You think you know everything" Ned shuts the stove off and sighs. "I used to think that"

"Relax, little man" Conner pats Ned on the shoulder. "Your head's about to explode":He cracks his knuckles. "Is it a I'm-going-to-get-jumped-problem? Or a girl problem?"

Ned stays silent.

"Girl problem, then" Conner gazes across the room at a bunch of girls sitting at the table. "How asking someone out. That brown haired girl is pretty cute. Those blonds look pretty dim though"

"Conner, I'm not in the mood" Ned doesn't even bother to look up. He spins the spoon around the pot.

"I need you to go over to them, anyway" Conner states. "One of the 4 blond girls is smoking like a chimney. Go over there and nicely inform her that this is a non smoking restaurant"

"C'mon" Ned protests. "I'm no good at ordering people around. I'm not muscularly built."

"Do it or I'm docking 10 bucks from your pay" Conner easily says.

"Fine" Ned stomps over to the table, where he can see a thin blond smoking an expensive cigarette. He squints at her for a moment._**Bitsy... **_He thinks "Miss, this is a non-smoking restaurant" Ned can hear himself saying. But it feels like an out of body experience, because he's not looking at her. He sees Moze sitting across from her in the vinyl bench with slightly red eyes. _**I am seriously resisting the urge to grab her in my arms and take her away. **_

Bitsy doesn't even look at him. She reaches in her wallet and takes out a 5 dollar bill. She shoves it at him. _**I guess this is her way of saying no. **_Ned walks away ; the face on the bill seeming to mock him.

"She didn't stop" Conner observes "What did she do?"

"She gave me a fiver and basically shoved me away"

"Eh, what can you do" Conner shrugs. "Hopefully those wanna-bes leave pretty soon and we won't have to worry" _**Moze is not a wannabe...I think. I hope.  
**_

The time passes with Ned mostly stirring and sprinkling things (Conner feels that Ned's a bit too rough with the dough today) People come in and out of the place, but Ned keeps his attention mostly on Moze.

It seems that they are bickering among the ranks. Missy seems to be almost pleading with Suzie, Bitsy, and Lexy. Moze glares maliciously at all 4 of them, quietly and almost abnormally calmly speaking her ideas.All of a sudden, she comes out with a flurry of words, waving her hands around. Her face is turning a brilliant flaming crimson. After yelling a few choice words at them, she picks up her handbag and races out to the street outside.

Ned moves his hand over to the little half-door that separates the kitchen from the dining area. _**I gotta run after her. This is my chance!**_

"Where are you going?" Conner asks him not unkindly.

"Nowhere" Ned takes his hand off the gate and walks back to the kitchen slowly.

_**-Thursday- **_

Ned stares at the door, waiting for the moment that Moze would burst through the door. She would lecture him about his lack of attention in Pre-Calc and try to explain analyzing rational functions to him. Secretly, he hopes that she would explain the rumors that were flying around Dukakis: That she had walked off the field in the middle of a halftime show. _**Temporary insanity? **_

He knows that never in a million years would she talk about that to him. Or anything else. Girls are a mystery to Ned, Moze even more so.

She never comes.

-db-

Ned walks the whole way home. _**This reeks of before the reunion. **_He smiles slightly. _**Now my life is separated between pre-Reunion and post-Reunion. How pathetic am I!**_

After wrestling with his keys for a few moments, he manages to unlock the door and walk in. There is an obvious lack of sound and noise, punctuated when Ned drops his bag in the hallway and isn't yelled at by Jo.

"Jo? Mom?"

He looks around, partly hoping to see a flash of Johanna's red-streaked hair as she makes a guest appearance in his life. "Guess nobody's home"

Minutes slip into hours and Ned is still alone, but now asleep on the couch, trash-tv blaring . Ned remains blissfully unaware of the noise, snoring away with one of his legs hanging off of the couch. Loud rapping on the door awakens him, and he jumps about 10 feet in the air. He fumbles for the remote and turns it off with a click.

"What!" He moans flatly, expecting to see his sister outside. "You wo-whoah"

Standing outside his front door is Moze. She's wearing a white shirt and jeans that make her seem almost angelic against the darkness behind her. She beams hesitantly at him. "Hey"

"Hey" Ned stares aimlessly at her. _**This can not be happening. It can't. **_

"I have to say something" Moze picks at a loose thread on her jeans, and she glances shyly through her hair. "I know you probably think I'm insane right now. Everyone's been gossiping about my supposed breakdown"

_**I could never think that. **_

"I at least have to apologize to you" Moze pronounces carefully. "I know the truth now. And I'm sorry. And I have to do something I've wanted to do for a while now."

Ned hasn't said anything up to this point, merely gaping at her in astonishment. Only one thought is running through his mind. _**Why didn't I change my shirt? **_His hair is sticking up in the back, and his eyes are sleepy still.

"Even if you hate me, at least I won't be sleepless for the rest of my life" She places a soft hand on his cheek. "I'm sorry" She places her left palm on his other cheek, and she shifts forward to kiss him.

Ned's baby blues shoot open, feeling a sudden heat making his face turn red. He could feel her tongue poking his mouth slightly, asking if it was okay. Her lips are warm and everything at his particular moment feels more perfect than ever. He moves his hands up halfway,about to envelop her in his arms. But the fireworks are too strong and he can hardly remember to breathe, much less move his limbs.

Moze opens her eyes and just backs off, her eyes watching his every move.

Not thinking clearly, he steps back inside of the door, slamming the door in her face.

_**What the hell did I just do? **_

-db-

_Ned crawled to the very edge of the balcony, a cocky smile on his face. _

_"What are you doing!" Moze gazed nervously and panic-ridden at him. _

_"Exactly what you dared me to do" Ned crouches on the edging. "Jumping from my balcony to yours!" _

_"She didn't actually think you'd do it" Cookie pointed out. "Ned, come on!" _

_"If I don't do this, then I have to be her personal valet for the day" Ned scrunched up his face at the thought of it. "And I don't even know what the word valet means!" _

_"It means you would have to do as I say!" Moze hollered. _

_"I'm not doing that" Ned says as he jumps. He obviously miscalculated and he falls, several inches from the balcony. He lands in a bush in Moze's front yard , clutching his arm. _

_"Are you okay?" Cookie rushes over to him. _

_"No, you idiot" Ned grabs Cookie with his working arm. "I think I broke my arm" _

Read and Review!!!


	7. Starry Sky

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. (But gosh, wouldn't that be swell?)

Author's Notes: Well guys... this is it. The last chapter for this story (And Moze's obviously, since they have the same pacing) I'm a little burned out in terms of Ned's Declassified. I do have another idea for a follow-up story...but I don't think that I will end up writing it. Just to be safe, I have not included the epilogue for this story I originally wrote. (This is a case where I started writing the ending to the story, then played the what-if game and decided I better not,in case this continuation comes to arise. Let me know what you think)

_"Hey" _

_"I have to say something"_

"_I know you probably think I'm insane right now. Everyone's been gossiping about my supposed breakdown" _

_"I at least have to apologize to you"_

_ "I know the truth now. And I'm sorry. And I have to do something I've wanted to do for a while now."_

_"Even if you hate me, at least I won't be sleepless for the rest of my life"_

_**And then she kissed me.**_Ned stares at the ceiling in his room. _**Then I slammed the door in her face and effectively ruined everything. **_He shifts to his left on the bed, making it creak. His clock blinks 11:29 in red. _**I should be asleep right now. **_

Then he sits up suddenly. "I know what I have to do!" Ned races out of his room, completely ignoring the fact that he's in his pajamas and would get in remarkable trouble with his mom if she woke up.

Carefully, he sneaks out the front door, taking extra care to lock it behind him. _**Hopefully, I'll be back before Jo or Mom realizes that I'm gone.**_ He is holding three things in his hand right now. His house keys, his car keys and the pin from Moze's dress that she left in his car that night. _**Why I kept this, I'll never know. **_He walks carefully, as if he'll set off an alarm on her property. Soon, he is standing right under her balcony.

"Moze!" He stage-whispers. Of course, she doesn't hear this. He pauses for a moment in thought. Then he throws the pin up onto the balcony, causing a clanking sound to come from the impact.

He can see a shadow coming to the door/window that leads to the balcony. Thankfully, it is Moze who sees him and comes out. "Ned?" She says incredulously. "What the hell?"

"Not Ned, only the fair Ned-eo" Ned retorts mockingly to the Romeo he clearly is not. "Can you come out here?"

"Ned, sweetie, it's almost midnight. More imperatively, what are you doing here" Moze walks closer to the edge of the balcony. She leans on it.

Ned walks over to the maple tree that has been growing to the left of the balcony since as long as he can remember. He boosts himself onto the lowest branch, then leans against the trunk of the tree. "Now I'm a sweetie?" He folds his arms across his chest and yawns. "You sure change your mind quick. You hated me all week"

"It's not that simple" Moze utters as Ned wrenches himself onto the next highest branch.

_**Didn't this used to be easier **_Ned thinks to himself. _**Yeah, before you got old **_Ned's inner voice mocks. "It never is" He pauses thoughtfully. "Why can't it be?"

"Stop over analyzing" Moze takes a lipstick off the edge and threatens to toss it at him.

"You wouldn't. You don't have the guts" Ned wavers on his branch and falls over. "...Ow. Ow. I think I'm dead"

"That's just Karma"

"Come with me" Ned stands up and pleads with her. "Please"

"Okay" Moze smiles weakly. "But remember that you wore me down" She looks at the tree with a fair amount of scrutiny. "But if it's all the same to you, I think I'll take the door"

"Fair enough" Ned answers.

"Actually.." Moze hops into the tree, then shimmies down. Her right foot slips, and she falls backwards into Ned's arms.

"Hey" She says softly.

"Hey" Ned's vision drifts up and down her body. Her pants are blue fleece and are white with a monkey pattern on them. Her shirt has the same pattern on it, but Ned doesn't look there too long, because he fears that she'll think he is gross. Her blue and fuzzy slippers match the whole ensemble.

"You're certainly.. matching" Ned says after a period of silence.

"I guess" Moze steps closer to him. Ned starts to walk towards his car, and Moze follows him. Her face shows clear confusion. "It was a birthday present from...Suzie, I think?"

"It must be nice having so many 'friends' that you can't remember who gave it to you" Ned sighs.

"Not so great" Moze rolls her eyes. "You could thank the wrong person and get into trouble"

"Oh" Ned nods in understanding. "But some things you remember" He leans to see if she's wearing the necklace.

"Mm" Moze stands in front of his car, with an addled expression on her face. "So why have you dragged me out here in my jammies?"

"Its sorta a surprise" Ned fidgets nervously. He unlocks the door.

"Are you going to blindfold me?" Moze raises an eyebrow. "Because that's not happening."

"Good idea. But no" Ned smirks. "But no. I'm just going to let it be a surprise"

Moze slides into the shotgun seat. "Fine"

"Don't be so tense" Ned says. _**Because I'm nervous enough for the both of us. **_

"Think about it like this" Moze replies. "This guy that I've known since I was practically a fetus basically slammed the door in my face after I kissed him. That's enough to make anyone tense."

"...well..." Ned just trails off. "I don't know what to say to that"

"So where are we going?" Moze asks as the car shifts into motion.

"I told you, have faith in me" Ned gives her a slow smile.

"I have" Moze says in a tone that is neither accusing or angry, but rather with a wistful tone. "And it hasn't been always in my favor."

Ned's face burns as he keeps his eyes on the road. _**It would be so easy to try to bury the truth. To deny it. **_"I know" He pauses as the road zooms by.

"Are you going to ask me?"

"Ask you what?"

"What happened on the football field?" Moze yawns a little. "I know everyone is dying to know"

"To be completely honest, I don't care. Cheer leading never seemed like you anyway" Ned shrugs as he makes a turn. _**It seemed like something that you got roped into by people who didn't like you. **_

"To be completely honest..." Moze imitates him. "It never really felt like it was me, either"

"The yellow hair dye or the color contacts? Or, better yet, the green and gold cheer skirt"

"Yellow hair?" Moze laughs hysterically. "You thought my hair was YELLOW?"

" 'S what it looked like to me" Ned smirks.

"I'll have you know that the skirt is yellow, and my hair was HIGHLIGHTED gold" Moze giggles. _**God, it's been too long since I've heard that. Way too long.**_

And just like that, it seems like the separation of three years has melted away, and everything is as it should be. Ned's fears melt away. _**Maybe I was afraid of nothing. Maybe...everything is going to be okay now. **_

"So." Moze says primly. "Suzie tells me..."

"Moze, don't listen to a word she says" Ned grips the steering wheel tightly. So tight, as a matter of fact, that he is leaving nail marks in it.

"So you really did it with her?" Moze's face colors in an explosion of red. She turns away from him. "You know, I was so willing to believe her..."

"Wait, what?" Ned turns to her suddenly. "Huh?" _**Suzie, what the hell are you doing to screw up my life now?**_

"Haven't heard that in a while" Moze smiles faintly. "She came to me and said that you didn't"

"I never...I wouldn't..I..." Ned stammers. "I didn't do anything with Suzie." _**Because I was too busy being stuck on you near the end of Suzie and my relationship. **_

"So you didn't?" Moze's face crumples into relief. "I just had to ask."

"There wasn't a better way to ask?"

"Not one that I could think of" Moze shrugs. "So where are we going, again?"

Ned bites his lip. "I don't know?" He finally says

"You don't know where you're going?" Moze reaches for the door latch and lock. "Let me out of here. You're a predator! I knew it" She mocks lightly.

"..If I should tell you" Ned finishes. "Don't you like surprises?"

"No" Moze bluntly says. "Especially when they involve matters of the heart."

_**Wait, what was that? I'm a part of her heart again?**_

"Can't blame you..." Ned says. "All I am to you is a series of disappointments."

"Some parts" Moze stares out of the window to see the scenery whizzing past her. "Not all of it." She fiddles with a loose strand of thread on her pants.

"What's the rest?" Ned queries.

He is given a silent stare.

"Well, I'll share what you make me think of" Ned wheedles. _**Ned? **_Screams his inner voice. _**Ned Bigby, what the hell are you doing? This is not the right thing to do!**_

"What, dare I ask?"

"You, Jennifer Ann Mosley, remind me of spicy food, lost Puppy-Bears, summer days, locker decorations, first kisses...and heart-shaped necklaces"__._**And more...**_

"Mmm, Puppy-Bear" The corner of Moze's mouth twitches to create a smile. "He's still around, for the record"

"It wouldn't be right any other way" Ned motions for her to begin. "So?" _**please not be anything bad. Please not be anything bad.**_

"You...remind me of more than any one person should. Of a grassy green field, monkey bars. Of stolen diaries and waffles on Saturday mornings. But of other things too. Of heartbreak and pain"

Ned doesn't speak for a while. "Sorry about the last two"

"What's done is done.." Moze answers. "Do you remember when Missy had an obsession with you?"

"That was one of the more horrible moments of my life" _**Funny now, how she treats me like pond scum now**_

So the trip goes on like that, trading stories and anecdotes. They rarely touch upon the missing years that they missed. A few things are mentioned, to fill in the blanks that the other has. But for the most part, it is too painful. A terrible reminder.

"We're here" Ned pokes Moze.

"Really?" Moze says. "Already?"

"I've been driving for a little more than an hour." Ned glances quickly at the clock in the car.

"So not already" Moze looks around. "Are you ever going to tell me where we are?"

"Um..." Ned begins. "You can try to figure it out as we go along, how about that?"

"Fine" Moze pouts. _**Why does she have to be cute like that?**_

Ned helps her out of the car. As she steps out, she sighs. "Tell me again why I went along with this insane whatever it is?"

"Because you always go along with my insane schemes" Ned says with a complete poker face. They walk down a pathway made of stone and dirt. Ned prays that he remembers exactly where it is. If not...he's in huge trouble right now.

"Really? How come I'm so gullible?"

The two teenagers pass in front of a tree with a blue t-shirt hanging from it. The shirt is very faded and has holes in it from weather damage. Ned lets out a breath he didn't know he's been holding. So he is headed in the right direction.

"Wait, are we.."

"Shh.." Ned silences her by whispering in her ear. "We'll be there in a little bit."

"Oh my...go.." but Moze doesn't finish her sentence. They are at the Rose Garden in Huffington Gardens. Where it all began for them.

"So that T-shirt..."

"..is the one that got torn off of me about 4 years ago" Ned sheepishly says. "I know its not exactly right..Because the flowers aren't blooming and stuff, but I really..."

"Ned" Moze places a finger on his lips. "It's okay" She removes her finger and replaces it with her lips.

In less than .23 seconds, he's kissing her back. It feels like his feet aren't touching the ground, and he's soaring away. A million miles away from everything. He can feel himself falling back slowly, until he's lying down on the slightly cool wooden floor of the gazebo.

Her hand and his are intertwined. Ned smiles dreamily. The inner voice is silent once more,and Ned had a feeling that it wouldn't ever come back. As he makes out with Moze under the glittering sky, he comes to this conclusion. Everything is right with the world.

So that's it. The story. So, voice your opinion about this story. I'll make a deal with you. If you review both stories, I'll Private Message (Or e-mail if you prefer) my idea for a possible follow up to this.

Adios!

darkbunny


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